The “Blue Danube” had turned green…I hope that they
won’t change the waltz to the Green Danube.

At the start—all is quiet and restful.

Danube is [a]Big Riverwith a strong
current.

Outside of Wien [Vienna] are all woods, which is an
extremely pleasant change from the city. Actually,
you [can’t] see much except [for] the woods on the
riverbank. Around Wien, there are some industries
around the river, but I didn’t see anything
[pollution] pouring into it.

Extremely pleasant day.

I was looking at this very beautiful countryside and
admired how beautiful it was. It was
Czechoslovakia—the Iron Curtain. Then when we circled
around and were very close to the border, you could
see the barbed-wire fence, and the observation
towers, and patrol boat.

Suddenly, you feel frightened, and sad. These people
probably have good lives and it doesn’t bother them,
but for me, just the fact of the confinement of THAT
FENCE–was too much.

I think that I would [will] appreciate democracy
more.

REFLECTIONS

The
Green Danube.Finally,
some “live” on-the-spot journaling. The result? A lot
of poor grammar (my weakness). Choppy and fragmented
writing. I use the conjunction “but” an awful lot,
and a million dashes to set apart my
stream-of-consciousness, non-linear thoughts. Messy,
but you get the picture. Actually, it’s the way my
brain thinks.

After a couple of short-journal days, this post makes
up for it.

So, we’re taking a boat ride that afternoon on the
BLUE Danube. If you don’t know theBlue Danubewaltz by
Johann Strauss Jr., you must be from another planet.
You would know it, if you heard it. The BLUE Danube
is actually GREEN. What? Was the river actually BLUE
in Strauss’ time? Perhaps. Even today, Google Earth
has confirmed that the Blue Danube is still GREEN,
these 36 years later. Can someone locally provide a
scientific answer for us? Thanks. By the way, I love
Google Earth. Ok, enough with the colors already.

Wien.Vienna
isWienin German.
As I am now an expert, and culturally assimilated,
I’ll probably use Wien more often. Vienna/Wien is
surrounded by the Vienna Woods. This is where Johann
Strauss Jr. got his inspiration for hisTales
of the Vienna Woods.All very
beautiful.

The
Iron Curtain.Czechoslovakia.
This was my first encounter with communism and the
Iron Curtain.

If you’re very young, you may not even be aware of
the Iron Curtain, and the cold-war days with the
Soviet Union and its satellites pitted against the
West, NATO, and the United States. The Iron Curtain
was the term used to describe the U.S.S.R.’s hold on
its peoples and countries. The fence was the symbol
of that prison. Remember, we are all book-learned.
Seeing that it was actually true was a “shock.” I
remember that gut feeling in my stomach when seeing
THAT FENCE. That people were actually “fenced-in”
was, well, shocking. Even today, I remember that
moment. People died trying to escape to “freedom” in
the West.

I remember being thankful I was an American and
thankful that I was born to freedom. Thankful for
democracy and the United States.

Thank goodness, those days are long gone. Today, we
have new issues. Let’s hope they can be solved.

TRANSCRIPT

Angeli
[Anjali],was the girl who was
having problems at Johannesgasse [the dorms]. She is
a very pleasant person, and we had a good
conversation. Her father, a diplomat. She has been
all over the world—Australia, London, France, NY—and
has done a lot—horseback riding, private school, etc.
But a little young. But, I also enjoy having a good
time with pleasant conversation. Lived in India.

Bad-Deutsch
Altenburg.The boat landed here and
we decided to walk around. It was a small type of
village-town—quiet, serene, beautiful, fresh air,
park-type area. It is well known as a resort town,
but we didn’t see any mineral springs.

Saw
Afrika Museum. Very interesting.
Angeli has been there [before]. But I enjoyed walking
in the country (on a paved road). We stopped in a
small grocery store (very friendly people) for a
drink. It could have beenArchie’s—it’s
own atmosphere and very small. Meanwhile, I took
plenty of pictures. Very beautiful.

On board [the tour boat], we had dinner and then
listened to the music. The first band played older
music, plus jazz (Farfisa organ), and were not really
that good. But the second band was a popular and rock
(bubble gum) group, very good—playing, singing, &
harmony. But not heavy.

Angeli didn’t know how to dance. But I convinced her
that she could learn, and I believe I taught her
fairly well…[she is] selfconscious. But we both
enjoyed it. I wonder what her father would say?

REFLECTIONS

Anjali.Anjali is
her name, though I mostly spell it wrong in the
journal as Angeli. We usually don’t ask people to
spell their names when we meet them, do we? (This
photo is one of the few photos I have of Anjali taken
during the Danube boat party excursion.

This is the first mention of Anjali in the journal. I
had actually run into her on one of the first days at
the dorms at Johannesgasse. She was in the foyer
entrance and was having some problems with getting
in. Of course, me, Mr. International, steps in with
my broken German to assist. (I always assist damsels
in distress.I be a
knight,
perhaps.) That was the extent of our first meeting.
Little did I know that she was fluent in a bazillion
languages.

She came from a diplomatic family and obviously lived
all over the world, including India. I’m just a
commoner who worked in a deli for many years. Am I
outmatched? We’ll see.

I mention that she is young. I later find out that
she will be going to University the coming year.
Whew!

Bad-Deutsch
Altenburg.The tour
boat stops in Bad-Deutsch Altenburg, a well-known
resort. I’m now a companion to Anjali and we do a
little sightseeing together, including a visit to the
Afrika Museum. (See photo right.) I thoroughly enjoy
walking, sightseeing, the beauty of nature, and
taking pictures. Photography was my passionate hobby
at that time. I would walk around with Nikon’s
Nikkormat camera around my neck and a zoom lens
strapped to my belt. Hopefully, I’ll be getting some
of my thousands of Kodak slides (remember those?)
converted to digital format by a service,
DigMyPics.com. They look good with individual service
and attention to each picture. Nice. The photo right
is from the Afrika Museum.

The photo below is that of a farmer as we were
walking along a road in Bad-Deutsch Altenburg.

Again,
it’s all about thejoy of
discovery. You
don’t think about it consciously, but it’s the
excitement underneath the surface that is ready to
explode. When you’re young, exploit it. Learn. Get
excited. Enjoy your friends. While you’re
discovering, don’t be destructive to yourself—you
know what that means. You’re cool as it is, all by
yourself. I’m the cheerleader here. Looking back, I
wish that I could have remembered to keep that joy
throughout my entire life. Well, as you get older
(work, pay bills, rent, mortgages, more work), we
often get into ruts and lose that desire to discover.
For the last several years, I’m striving to reverse
that. We’ll see.

Dinner is served on the boat during the return
journey. We dance. Or try to. Anjali doesn’t know how
to dance! How cool is that! Well, Don Juan to the
rescue. Mr. International, and all that stuff. We
have a good time trying to learn.

There may be something going on here. I just haven’t
realized it yet. And I mention her father.